What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Walt Disney Animated Classics/How the Grinch Stole Christmas
How the Grinch Stole Christmas (promoted theatrically as The Grinch) is a 2000 American animated Christmas comedy film directed by Ron Clements and John Musker and written by Clements, Musker and Chuck Jones (in his last work before his retirement in 1997 and his death in 2002), Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on the 1957 story of the same name by Dr. Seuss. The film was produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation released by Walt Disney Pictures on November 17, 2000. It was the first Dr. Seuss book to be adapted into a full-length feature film. Because the film is based on a children's short story, many additions had to be made to the storyline to bring it up to feature-length, including the backstory of the title character and reworking the story's minor character Cindy Lou Who as a central character. Most of the rhymes that were used in the book were also used in the film, though some of the lines were to some degree changed, and several new rhymes were put in. In 1966, How the Grinch Stole Christmas was adapted before as an animated 22-minute short shown as a segment in a Christmas two-hour special for Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color, with Boris Karfolf as the voice of the Grinch. In 1998, Dr. Seuss' widow Audrey Geisel annouced she approved an animated film adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas produced by Disney. Plot Inside the magical snowflake, the people in Whoville enjoy celebrating Christmas with much happiness and joy, except the Grinch, who hatefully resents Christmas and the Whos. He occasionally pulls dangerous and harmful practical jokes on them with vengeance. As a result, no one likes or cares for the Grinch. Meanwhile, six-year-old Cindy Lou believes everyone is missing the point about Christmas by being more concerned about the gifts and festivities. After her two brothers are scared off by the Grinch when they trespass on his domain, and she herself has a face-to-face encounter with the Grinch at the post office, in which he reluctantly saves her life, Cindy Lou becomes interested in his history. She then asks everyone what they know about him, and soon discovers that he has a tragic past. The Grinch actually arrived in Whoville by mistake when he was a baby, and was adopted by two elderly sisters. Although he showed some sadistic tendencies as a child, he was rather timid and not cruel as he would become. He was bullied by his classmates (particularly by Augustus May Who, the current Mayor of Whoville) because of his appearance, with the exception of Martha May Whovier, whom both the Grinch and May Who had feeling for. One Christmas season, when he was eight, the Grinch made a gift for Martha, but attempted to shave his face after being made fun of for having a "beard", cutting himself by accident. When his classmates saw his face covered with shaving tape the next morning, led by Augustus they laugh at him. He lost his temper, trashed the classroom, and ran away to live on Mount Crumpit, a mountain north of Whoville. Cindy Lou, touched by this story, decides to make the Grinch the main participant of the Whobilation, much to the great displeasure of Mayor May Who, who reluctantly agrees after pressure from the townspeople, who have been warmed by Cindy Lou's generous spirit. When Cindy Lou goes to Mount Crumpit and offers an invitation to the Grinch, he turns her down. He gradually changes his mind due to the promise of an award, the presence of Martha at the celebration and the chance to upset the Mayor. Just as the Grinch is enjoying himself, May Who gives him an electric shaver as a present, reminding him of his awful humiliation at school. May Who then asks Martha to marry him, promising her a new car in return. In response, the Grinch berates the Whos, and criticizes Christmas, claiming that the holiday is only about gifts that they will just dispose of later, in the hopes of making them too ashamed to celebrate the holiday. The Grinch then goes on to ruin the party by burning the Christmas tree with a makeshift flamethrower and cause chaos around Whoville, but his actions prove to be fruitless as the Whos have a spare tree, which the Grinch sees them erect before he leaves. May Who then harshly scolds insults Cindy Lou for inviting the Grinch, making her feel ashamed. The Grinch, knowing that his attack has failed to remove the Whos' Christmas spirit, instead concocts a plan to steal all of their presents while they are sleeping. Creating a Santa suit and sleigh with his own dog Max as a "reindeer", the Grinch arrives at Whoville, stealing all of the Whos' Christmas gifts. He is almost discovered by Cindy Lou, but lies to her in order to get away. On Christmas morning, the Whos discover the Grinch's scheme, and May Who blames Cindy Lou for the whole disaster. However, her father, Lou Lou Who, the Whoville postmaster, finally stands up to him, and reminds everyone that they still have Christmas spirit, and that the principal meaning of Christmas is to spend it with family and friends. The people accept his fate and begin to sing. Hoping that the change of mood would inspire the Grinch, Cindy Lou goes to Mount Crumpit to find him. The Grinch reveals that he intends to push the stolen gifts off the top of the mountain after he hears the Whos crying. However, instead of crying, he hears the joyful singing of the Whos. Infuriated over the failure of his plan, the Grinch has an epiphany about what Christmas is really about: not material gifts, but spending time with loved ones, an insight that profoundly touches him, and causes his small heart to grow to three times its original size. When the sleigh full of stolen gifts begins to go over the edge of the cliff, the Grinch desperately tries to save them to no avail. However, when he realizes that Cindy Lou has come to wish him a merry Christmas and is in danger of falling off the cliff with the sleigh, the Grinch finds enough strength to lift the sleigh, the gifts and Cindy Lou to safety. After a long descent down Mount Crumpit, the Grinch returns to Whoville with Max, Cindy and the gifts. He confesses to the burglary, tearfully apologizes for his actions towards the Whos and surrenders himself to the police as they arrive, but the Whos reconcile with him, much to May Who's dismay. Martha turns down May Who's proposal and decides that she would rather stay with the Grinch instead. The redeemed Grinch (along with Max) starts a new life with the Whos, commemorating the Christmas feast with them in his cave. Voice cast *Jim Carrey as The Grinch **Josh Ryan Evans as an 8-year-old Grinch *Taylor Momsen as Cindy Lou Who *Jeffrey Tambor as Mayor Augustus May Who **Ben Bookbinder as an 8-year-old Augustus May Who *Christine Baranski as Martha May Whovier **Landry Allbright as an 8-year-old Martha May Whovier *Bill Irwin as Lou Lou Who *Molly Shannon as Betty Lou Who *Frank Welker as Max the Dog *Mindy Sterling as Clarnella Who *Jim Meskimen as Officer Wholihan *Bryce Dallas Howard as Surprised Who *Anthony Hopkins as the Narrator Category:What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes Category:What if Walt Disney was the producer of Looney Tunes/Movies